WALKING TOURS - SEE tHE SIGHTS, HEAR THE STORIES, EAT THE EATS

Cartagena's centre is flat and relatively small.. making it the perfect city for walking. Yes, the "centro" is quite tiny, but believe me when I tell you those 100 square kilometres are absolutely choc-full of historic sites, postcard worthy streets, tasty eats, friendly folks, swinging beats, art, architecture and plenty more adventures and moments that you just can't experience unless you are on foot. So! Book a walking tour! The following tours are with us .. but I also recommend the Segway tours and the Photography Tours or bicycle tours as an alternative.

Once we get a group booking.. we add it to the WHAT'S ON calendar here. So you can see which tour we're doing on which day and where to go. If we don't have bookings.. we don't do the tour. So don't chance it! Make a booking by sending an email to info@cartagenaconnections.com telling us which tour you want to do, how many people, which day you would like to do it, and which hotel or accommodation you are staying in (so we can call just in case you're a no-show to check)

Gold-crafting Indigenous tribes, Spanish colonialism, pirates and corsairs, African slaves, fortifications, Catholicism and The Inquisition, immigrants, Independence, cholera, drugs, crime, beauty pageants, books, art and movies: Cartagena has led a very interesting life! With such a fascinating and turbulent history, you can bet your arepa e huevo that there are plenty of must-see sites and sights for visitors.

This tour starts at 5pm in the afternoon when things are (comparatively) cooler and the city takes on a magical candlelit glow. This tour has a historical focus and we cover the key sites within Centro Histórico and San Diego. We also cover topics such as the architecture, the art, music, food and culture. Other people may come along on this tour... we meet at Plaza Parque Fernandez de Madrid. Bookings are essential.. We need at least 2 people booked to run the tour and we don't really like to take more than 12 people (normally it's a lot less).

If you haven't made a booking.. and you want to chance it.. you are welcome to come along to Plaza Parque Fernandez Madrid at 5pm and see if you can come along. But bookings are preferred (payment on the day is fine).

This tour has its focus more on food and culture (less on the history.. unless you ask questions) as we walk the streets, checking out street art, exploring the community of Getsemani, getting our fill of street snacks and local favourites. Even those who aren't keen to try the food still get a lot from this tour which explains a lot about the food and the Cartageneros relationship with it, plus local insights, folk legends and more of the Cartagena that is beyond the traditional tourist sites. The tour includes snacks and samples and people usually end up pretty full. You can read more about the famous street food tour here or you might want to go the whole hog and opt for the market tour here. Most food preferences are catered for (vegetarians.. gluten free etc) We normally don't do the tour on Sundays or Public Holidays because there's considerably less food vendors that open on this day. 2 people minimum to run the tour.

Again, if you haven't made a booking.. and you're feeling Eastwood lucky, you are welcome to come along to the Parque Fernandez Madrid in front of the statue at 2.30pm and see if you can come along. But bookings are preferred. Payment on the day is A-OK.

For history that is being written and re-written right before your eyes.. look no further than Cartagena's vibrant streetart. This 2 hour tour focuses on the artists and stories behind the colourful murals; providing a unique and entertaining insight into daily life and culture of Cartagena and Colombia. Your guide will be Belgian world graffiti photographer and artist, Kristoff. He's charismatic, kooky and passionate about urban art and the people that create it. 2 people minimum to run the tour. Reservations essential (if we haven't received at least 2 reserved places, we don't run the tour). Email info@cartagenaconnections.com​

A city rich in folklore, Cartagena is teeming with stories of spooky sightings, unexplained happenings, urban legends and superstitions. Whether they are true or not is largely irrelevant, you're in the world of Magic Realism and facts are rarely as important as a good story. Join us as we explore Cartagena's historic streets with a view to tapping into some of the most creepy/fascinating of these tales. A fantastic alternative tour, taking place in the cool of the evening, you will learn about guacas, ghouls, ghosts and graves plus a bunch of other insights into Cartagena and its historic past..This tour can also include the morbidly wonderful Cemetery in Manga for the very game. Bookings are essential.. minimum of 2 people to run the tour. Also available as a private tour at another time more convenient for you, by arrangement.

For those who want complete flexibility and don't want to share! The private tour can be whatever you want it to be, but is most often a chance to walk Cartagena's Centro, San Diego and Getsemani neighbourhoods - helping to orientate your stay. 3 hours with minimal stoppage and you can cover pretty much everything. If we are stopping more for eating, or travelling outside the city we can be at your disposal for up to 4 hours.

Ideas on what we can do? This might be as a walking tour of the city (where you don't have to share us with anyone else) and we can see the sites that you are interested in, or just go shopping, or eating. (Please, let's go eating!) We can go to the main sites outside the wall* (san felipe, la popa etc). We can focus on streetart. Literature. We can do a combo on the streetfood/history tour. I've had groups hire me as a chaperone/translator/social coordinator/dance instructor as we've hit the bars and dance-clubs, I've helped out on bachelor weekends, others have had me co-ordinate and come along on tours of the islands. I've done corporate events. We can come to La Boquilla with you and we can tour the mangroves, visit the fishing village, or a secluded private beach you can only reach by pushed-along canoe.. we can help you tour the fortress of San Bernardo and Bocachica. You might want us to re-create Anthony Bourdain's Cartagena visit with you. All possible. The price doesn't include entry fees and food.. just our time and infinite local knowledge. We can arrange a car or van or bicycle (you'll need to pay the hire costs separately) and we can tour around the sites of the city while we spout forth fascinating information (in my case, delivered with an Australian accent).

*PLEASE NOTE: As Kristy, Jan and Catalina are not officially gazetted guides in Cartagena, after local pressure, we have agreed not to lead tours to the tourist sites of La Popa, Castillo San Felipe or Palace of the Inquisition and to leave these to the local guides who rely on them for their bread and butter. So if you are wanting to book one of these more traditional tours, we will arrange it with a really great local official-has-a-card-and-everything guide. For further clarification on this, just ask!

Wanna get local? Not afraid of gross-smelling ground sludge? Eat first, ask questions later? This is your tour. It combines a tour of Getsemani, transport via public buses, a tour of the market where we see all the food in it's raw state (sometimes up close and raw), lunch at the market (if you feel like it.. if you're more voyeur and just want to look, that's ok too), a champeta dance lesson (this is partly joke, partly reality because the local shopkeepers always encourage us to dance), and some really great photo opportunities. Read more, see more here.Bookings essential.. 2 people minimum To market, to market.. email your booking!

Ahoy me hearties! Want to unlock all the scandalous stories of Cartagena's pirate-packed past whilst also ticking the must-see Fortress of Castillo San Felipe off your list? Then you want to join our PIRATE TOUR! Too right you do! This is a 3 hour, 3 kilometer tour that takes in the bulwarks, walls, mansions of Cartagena's historic centre (as far as they pertain to pirates), includes a visit to our favourite barrio, Getsemani, says hello to total dude Blas de Lezo AND includes entrance to the fortress. Doesn't that sound like a rollicking good time? Send your reservation (how many people, where you're staying, which day etc) to us here. Arrghh!